Kichijō-ji (Saijō)

The main hall of the temple

Plan of the temple (see text)

The Kichijō-ji ( Japanese 吉祥寺 ) with the Go Mikkyōzan (密教山) and Taizōin (胎蔵院) is a temple of the Shingon direction of Buddhism in the city of Saijō ( Ehime prefecture ). In the traditional count it is the 63rd temple on the Shikoku pilgrimage route .

history

When priest Kūkai passed here on his pilgrimage through Shikoku in the years of the Kōnin era (810-824), he was seized by an enlightenment. He then made the holy Bishamon ( 毘沙門天 ) as a cult figure and holy Kichiyō as a helper for a happy birth. The temple was originally located further southeast at the foot of a mountain. In the end, there were 21 Klausen in the extensive temple area. However, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Shikoku in 1585 , the temple became involved in fighting and went up in flames. In 1659 the temple merged with the Hinoki-ji ( 檜木寺 ) sub-temple . This enabled a new temple to be built at the current location. It is the only temple on Shikoku where Bishamon is the main cult figure.

The attachment

You enter the small complex through the temple gate (山門. Sammon; 1 in the plan) and then have the main hall (本堂, Hondō; 2) in front of you. On the left is the hall dedicated to the temple founder, the Daishidō (大師堂), on the right there is a small octagonal modern pavilion with the inscription “Fukujukaku” (福聚閣; 3), for example “Good luck pavilion”. There is also a spring called “grass spring” (芝之井, Shiba no i) or “comforting water” （御加持水, Okajisui). The Jōjūseki (成就石) is a meter high stone on the edge of the site with an approximately 30 cm hole. If you push your pilgrim's staff through it, the wishes expressed will be fulfilled.

Treasures

The temple has a saint sculpture that is not open to the public and is called "Maria Kannon" (マリア観音). It is about 30 cm tall and made of white porcelain. She is said to have come to Japan when a Spanish ship wrecked in the Bay of Tosa and was mistaken for a Kichijō. It was passed on in secret from generation to generation and thus escaped the annihilation of the Christian cult figures in the Tokugawa period .

The temple's other treasures include a screen with the 12 saints (十二天屏風, Jūni Ten byōbu) from the Kamakura period and a colored painting on paper that depicts the Amida trinity when crossing the mountains (山越阿弥陀三尊像, Yamagoshi no Amida sanzon zō).